-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Gettysburg Address was a quick-hitting speech that was built to last .

Length : A little over two minutes .

Message : Stay the course of a difficult war . If Democracy wo n't work here , it wo n't work anywhere .

Short enough to comfortably fit into a social media status box , and shared in its entirety hundreds of times every day , according to recent data from Facebook . Memorable phrases are quoted even more often .

It has been 150 years since President Abraham Lincoln got up in front of thousands of people in Gettysburg , Pennsylvania , to dedicate the Soldiers ' National Cemetery at a turning point in the Civil War .

His words are some of the most memorable in American history , forever stamping our collective minds with `` four score and seven years ago , '' and `` all men are created equal , '' and of course a `` government of the people , by the people , for the people . '' Some of this was n't really his coinage , but we 'll get into that later .

Politicians portrayed themselves differently in Lincoln 's day , seeking to give a more powerful kind of impression , said Dennis Baron , a professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign .

`` If you did that today , people would think of you as somehow flowery and old-fashioned and ... why are you doing that ? ''

The modern trend is for leaders to `` play the folksy card , '' Baron said , portraying themselves as ordinary Joes and Janes who are exactly like you in every way -- except for the fact that they are hoping to achieve a position of immense power .

Baron said the last president with an `` oratorial '' style -- on the whole -- was probably John F. Kennedy , who was assassinated 100 years and three days after the delivery of the Gettysburg Address . We still remember Kennedy 's delivery of lines like , `` Ask not what your country can do for you ; ask what you can do for your country . ''

Lincoln was able to get straight to the point and deliver a punchy speech in part because he came after Edward Everett 's marathon presentation about the war , explains James Cornelius , curator of the Lincoln Collection in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum .

Lincoln had no speechwriter . Today , most politicians have at least some help preparing their words .

Everett had been the main attraction , but Lincoln 's speech started picking up steam afterward and seemed to `` go viral '' in the manner of its day . Newspapers wrote about the speech . In some cities , people could buy commemorative event pamphlets that contained the speech , and key phrases were incorporated into Lincoln 's 1864 election posters and memorials after his death .

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Sound familiar ? Cornelius said overall , Civil War-era America was a consumer-driven society that had a few things in common with our Internet-saturated world .

One can only imagine the tweets that would have been written about such a speech in modern times .

`` OMG . Lincoln just said in two minutes what Everett tried to say in two hours . #NailedIt #Boom ''

Today , children learn the address in school , especially in Northern cities , and documentary guru Ken Burns is asking people to record themselves saying the speech from memory .

Ken Burns : Learn the Gettysburg Address by heart

People also share the quotations on social media . Certain phrases seem to stick out , and Facebook numbers show which ones we like to share . We found that people in some states , like Delaware , were particularly fond of quoting the address and that different parts of the speech were more popular in some states than others .

Here is a nonexhaustive rundown of some of the most popular phrases in the speech , in order of appearance .

` Four score and seven years ago '

Pretty much everyone knows this part of the Gettysburg Address , even if they think a score is just something from sports . But no , in this case a score is 20 of something . Here , a span of 20 years .

This line is a bit of an inside remark shared with the audience , believed by most historians to be a reference to Psalm 90:10 , which most people of the day would know is an allusion to the human lifespan .

`` The days of our years are threescore years and 10 , '' says the psalm . `` And if by reason of strength they be fourscore years , yet is their strength labor and sorrow ; for it is soon cut off , and we fly away . ''

Cornelius said Lincoln used such phrasing as a subtle reminder that the nation was only a youthful 87 years old . Lincoln felt the United States was setting an example for the world , and he did n't want the experiment in democracy to fail .

`` He 's a little bit worried that the nation might die at about the average lifespan that a human would , '' Cornelius said . `` He 's putting forth straightforward political terms in a poetic way . ''

That , and people tend to remember the beginnings of speeches , Cornelius said .

` All men are created equal '

More clever wordplay is at work in this famous quotation .

`` In his call for democracy and equality , -LRB- Lincoln -RRB- does n't mention slavery , but everyone knew that was what he was talking about , '' Cornelius said .

See what he did there ? This phrase can be interpreted as both an allusion to the principles of the Declaration of Independence and also as a not-so-subtle jab at the institution of slavery .

Little doubt exists that Lincoln opposed slavery , and in fact loathed it , Cornelius said . Slavery was at the heart of the war . Lincoln struggled with how to go about eliminating it , and had to be convinced by legal thinkers and abolitionists that he had the governmental power to tackle it .

` These dead shall not have died in vain '

Something about this part of the speech may be touching a nerve somewhere .

This part was the second-most-mentioned phrase in the entire speech , rivaling `` four score and seven years ago '' in popularity , despite the fact that it 's not a particularly well-known part of the Gettysburg Address .

But Lincoln ca n't take full credit for this phrase , Cornelius said , because it was a fairly common expression used in the parlance of war . It speaks to a need for soldiers ' deaths to mean something , if they must occur -- a timeless desire we echo today .

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`` This is always a problem in warfare . Why should any other people die ? There is always a percentage of the population that will make that argument at a certain point . Lincoln 's contrary point was that they died defending you . They felt so strongly about the right of the cause . They felt so strongly about preserving the union and ending slavery that you should not let their efforts carry into the wind . You should continue on and further this effort . ''

` This nation , under God , shall have a new birth of freedom '

This phrase was mentioned by many readers who commented on this story . For some , it has become a point of political contention due to the presence of the words `` under God . '' There are five versions of the speech , and one of them omits those two words .

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Another slightly earlier portion of the speech was also frequently cited : `` It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us . ''

The takeaway there is persistence in the face of adversity .

` Government of the people , by the people , for the people '

This famous phrase , as well as the few words immediately before and after it , got lots of mentions on Facebook . Baron pointed out that anything at the end or beginning of a speech is probably automatically more memorable . It does n't hurt if a speech is structured to enhance this effect , either .

It 's such a beloved word grouping that numerous people have borrowed it , massaged it and restated it with a slightly different twist , like a game of telephone in an era without telephones .

Cornelius said historians trace this part back to Daniel Webster , a senator and U.S. secretary of state before the Civil War . Webster 's words were , `` The people 's government , made for the people , made by the people and answerable to the people . ''

It was later repurposed by the abolitionist minister Theodore Parker , who talked about a `` government of all the people , by all the people , for all the people . ''

Even Lincoln himself is said to have used a version of the phrase in a letter 20 years before the address , Cornelius said .

Cornelius said the key to the power of this phrase is in its skillful use of repetition . The point of `` people '' is driven straight into your mind by its frequent mention . That 's why so many people have recycled it over the years .

Fast-forward to today , and we 're still sharing all the phrases above .

Cornelius said one can see the endurance of Lincoln 's speaking legacy by taking a stroll into the Lincoln library 's gift shop , where you can pick up your very own T-shirt with a Lincoln quotation on it . One recently released item has the whole text printed on it .

Lincoln 's speech endures like few others , especially in our everyman-politician era . Maybe that 's why people ca n't help but post the speech on social media , 150 years after the fact .

Why do you think the Gettysburg Address endures today , and why do some lines seem to resonate more with different places and groups in the United States ? Share your thoughts in the comments below .

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President Abraham Lincoln delivered Gettysburg Address at turning point in Civil War

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Meant to mobilize nation in time of crisis , speech went viral in its day

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In modern times , entire speech is shared on social media and some parts more than others